PBI Awards: Best Farm-to-Fork Experience

A trip to the farm becomes a sumptuous experience when it includes a gourmet meal made with the very crops grown on the land. Swank Farms introduced this concept four years ago, and its Swank Table luncheons, held four times a year, present an exclusive, refined look at the farm-fresh approach.
The Swank Table experience, which benefits a different charity at every luncheon, is both tasteful and educational. Upon arrival, guests receive a welcome bite and cocktail, then enjoy appetizer-and-wine pairings underneath a tent. They then tour the hydroponic farm in the shade house, getting a behind-the-scenes look at how the vegetables on the property are cultivated. Following entertainment—typically live music and a vendor presentation—the meal begins.
With seating for up to 162, the luncheons present as many as six courses using ingredients from the farm and organic meat and seafood. Different local notable chefs execute each luncheon, overseen by Chef Lindsay Autry of Sundy House.
This year’s Swank Table luncheons will take place January 12, February 9, March 9 and April 6. All run from noon to 4 p.m. except the last one, an en blanc twilight meal benefiting the Armory Art Center. A rural setting, the sunset and a farm-fresh dinner: What could be more perfect?